. >> this is, i believe, our 12th season on the boston duck tours. >> we took a special ride on the boston duck tour. it's a way to see the city from land a wern e me vehicle. the ducks were around long before this tour began. they go all the way back to world war ii. anwh ia st dk? >> a boston du is basically a world war ii amphibious landing craft that has been converted into a touring vehicle. so we take people ound the city of boston on land and then also into the charles river. these vehicles were used for a lot of different things during world war ii. and mainly they were used as a supply vehicle because they could take supplies from ships onto the mainland. >> the amphibious trucks became known as "dukws." originally designed by general motors, the duck was 31 feet long and 8 feet wide. that's over three times the size of your average s.u.v. it weighed 6h tons, even though it had no armor. it traveled 50 miles per hour on land and 6 miles per hour in water. it's a challenge for the tour's con-duck-tors. [conductors] >> they're pretty interesting to drive 'cause you are basically dri